130 



Brief Horticultural jottings 



One of the most beautiful of Spring-llowcriiig shrubs, of com- 

 paratively large growth, is the male form of the Goat Willow, 

 Salix Caprea. Before the frost is hardly gone, the large ovate 

 spikes of yellow anthers make a brilliant show. In addition to 

 its appearance, it has a fragrance w^hich is agreeable to most per- 

 sons. The female form is far less handsome. What is known as 

 the Kilmarnock Willow belongs to this species— this being the 

 female form of the same species, which has assumed a weeping 

 habit. This is almost destitute of fragrance. 



Considering the great beauty of the male, it is rather surprismg 

 that it is not more generally employed in ornamental gardening. 

 The weeping variety of the female form is grafted on the male, 

 and very often the grafted portion dies aw-ay, leaving only the 

 stock living, and it is chiefly from these stocks that the male 

 plants, occasionally seen, have been distributed, for there has been 

 very little demaml for the male plants directly from American 

 nurseries. — .A.. McL., in Mechanics' Monthly'. 



According to the Kezv Bulletin . the famous tree known as the 

 Big Tree of Tule at Santa Maria de Tule, eighteen miles from 

 Oaxaca, Mexico, is the oldest in the world. This tree is closely 

 related to the swamp or deciduous Cypress (Taxodium distichum), 

 and is known to botanists as T. mucronatum. Its height is about 

 150 ft., the diameter of its trunk is 50 ft., and its age is supposed 

 to be about 5 000 years. In 1908 C. J. Chamberlain, of the Uni- 

 versitv of Chicago! saw the tree, and it was then in perfect health, 

 not a'dcad twig being in sight. "Before the Pyramids of Egypt 

 were built it was a sturdy tree, and before Moses led the children 

 of Israel into the wilderness it must have reached the usual size 

 of the species ; when Rome was founded it must have been known 

 as a big tree." 



The International Horticultural Congress assembled at Ghent 

 has decided to submit complaints to the League of Nations be- 

 cause of the restrictions decreed by the United States on the im- 

 portations of plants under the pretext of disease. It was also 

 decided to refuse to supply the United States with specimens of 

 anv new varieties. 



the English delegates did not vote. It is stated that .Americans 

 do not refuse to admit on the grounds of disease new plants from 

 Europe which they themselves desire to cultivate. .\s the .-Xmerican 

 action affects all countries, an international effort will be made to 

 arouse American public opinion on the question. 



At a recent meeting of the American Rose Society J. Horace 

 Miyparland reported he fears that as a result of the death of Con- 

 gressman Mann, the proposed rose show garden in Washington 

 D. C, of which he was one of the active supporters, has received 

 a serious set-back and without his support may fail to lx.-come a 

 reality. Elaborate plans for the garden have already Ixen drawn 

 up by Olmstcad Brothers. 



While visiting the tomb of Tut-ankh-.Amen Col. W'illiam Boyce 

 Thompson secured some ancient Egyptian seeds with which he will 

 experiment at his laboratory on his estate at Yonkers, N. Y. He 

 believes that after proper experimentation he will be able to re- 

 produce some of the plants and flowers of ancient civilization. 



According to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Plant Industry the 

 rose bug can be successfully fought by using a sw^eetcned arsenate 

 of lead by ai)])lving to a gallon of water one ounce of powdered 

 arsenate of lead, and two or three tablespoons of molasses. This 

 is to be applied just before the rose bug appears. 



A Hawthorn, over one hundred years old, was recently moved 

 from the center of the city of Harrisburg, Pa., to the home 

 grf.unds of R. S. Shoemaker in the suburbs. The tree had to 

 make room for a new building, and Mr. Shoemaker considered it 

 worth saving, not only because of its beauty but for its age and 

 history. 



It now seems likely that when the Sixty-eighth Congress con- 

 venes next December some definite action will be taken providing 

 for the removal and enlargement of the U. S. Botanic Garden at 

 Washington. D. C. Senator Pepper, chairman of the Senate Li- 

 brary Commission, which has the jurisdiction of the beautification 

 of the Capitol grounds, is much interested in the project. He is 

 supporting Director Cicorge W. Hess of the Gardens in what he is 

 seeking to obtain to make it rank with the foremost of its kind. 



A new potted plant, exceptionally well suited for Winter grow- 

 ing and possessing great possibilities, was recently exhibited by 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



Dr. E. \'. Coville. botanist of the Department of Agriculture. The 

 new creation is a miniature KhiKlodendron grown from seed under 

 glass, and is interesting because of its small size. The plant ex- 

 hibited ( in a six-inch pot ) was a little less than two years old, and 

 approximately eiglit inches high. Dr. Coville explained that it 

 flowered well in pots, the blossoms being about the size of those of 

 the trailing .\rbutus. Those on the plant were of a delicate pink 

 color and were quite plentiful. The leaves are small. The plant, 

 called the Mayflower Rhododendron, comes from the mountains of 

 southwestern China, and has been in cultivation in Europe, espe- 

 cially in France and Germany, for several years. It is quite hardy. 

 — Exchange. 



To raise funds for Prevention of Cruelty to Children Society, 

 prominent Westchester County, N. Y., residents will charge 

 rifty cents admission to their grounds in May and June. Among 

 others, Greystone, the estate of Samuel Untermyer at Yonkers, 

 N. Y., will be opened to the public. 



Comments from Our Readers 



In your article "In the Garden and in the Greenhouse" of the 

 .April number, you ask information of the poem which has ever 

 been a great favorite with me. You will find it in the exquisite 

 "Bitter-Sweet" of John G. Holland, published in 1892 by Charles 

 Scribner's Sons. 



He makes a master character, "David," say the lines : 



"Life evermore is fed by death, 



In earth and sea and sky; 

 And, that a rose may breathe its breatli. 



Something must die. 



Earth is a sepulchre of flowers. 



Whose vitalizing mould 

 Through boundless transmutation bowers 



In green and gold." 



There are six other gems of verses, to my mind the following 

 one of the most beautiful : 



"The milk haired heifer's life must pass 



That it may fill your own 

 As passed the sweet life of the^grass 



She fed upon." 



You would appreciate every word of the book. Very glad to 

 infoj-m vou of its wonderful existence. 



Larclimont, N. Y. C. G. McV. 



In the .April number you have an item in "Things and Thoughts 

 of the Garden" which interests me very much. I, too, dislike 

 the "abominable draperies" and millinery so freely used by some 

 florists in their disjilays. 



Vou say, "I may be old-fashioned, but I am opposed to giving 

 premiums to lavish displays of ribbons, chift'ons, colored burlap, 

 and tissue paper." To me these things mean only vulgar dis- 

 play, an offensfc against the beauty of nature unadorned. 



I wish some one could end that fad. 



W'estfield, X. J. A Nature Lover. 



Department ot Book Reviews 



Tlu- eighth edition of "The American Rose Annual." published 

 by the American Rose Society, should be a treasured volume in 

 the library of every rosarian, iirofessional or amateur. The book 

 contains a fund of valuable information on the most favored of 

 all flowers, and J. Horace McFarland, the editor, is to be con- 

 gratulated on its compilation, which comprises rose news and 

 notes from practically every part of Ainerica. Even if the mem- 

 bers of the American Rose Society were to receive no further 

 lieneflts from their society than the receipt of their rose annual, 

 they arc well compensated for their membership. 



"Ilmv to Grow Roses." by Robert Pyle, now in its fourteenth 

 edition and better than ever, contains advice and information 

 that is valuable to all who grow roses whether for pleasure or 

 for profit. It is well illustrated, the color plates being esjiecially 

 fine. Its cliapters tell of the best selection for special sections, of 

 proper planting, pruning and protection of ro.ses, of hybridizing 

 and of own root and bud<Ied or grafted roses, in sliort all that 

 the rose grower should know. The book is obtainable through 

 Conard & Jones Company, West Grove, Pa. Price, $1.50. 



